Pages

December 3, 2013

Now Catching For Boston, A.J. Pierzynski

The Red Sox have agreed on a one-year deal with free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who turns 37 at the end of this month. ESPN's Buster Olney reports the deal is for $8.25 million.

Pierzynski caught 111 games with the Rangers last year, hitting .272. His OBP was only .297 and Peter Abraham of the Globe notes that he saw only 3.27 pitches per plate appearance, the lowest in the majors.

The signing is seen as a bridge to catching prospect Christian Vazquez, who hit .289/.376/.395 for Portland and is expected to start 2014 in Pawtucket. Ryan Lavarnway is also in the mix.

Interestingly, considering the Red Sox' good-guy approach last year, Pierzynski has a reputation for not being well-liked throughout the majors. In a USA Today player poll conducted last year, Pierzynski was overwhelmingly voted the most hated player in the game. He earned 34 percent of the vote, compared to the second-place recipient, Alex Rodriguez, who garnered nine percent.

The Providence Journal quotes Pierzynski's former manager in Chicago, Ozzie Guillen: "If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less."

With the Lackster now in our good graces, I guess we needed someone else to hate to root for. ... However, as a Sock, so far, he's been well-behaved, so I'll let him slide on the past stuff (whatever it was).

I seem to recall hearing that when Jim Leyritz was behind home plate, baserunners would slide cleats first into him, even if they didn't need to, as he was that despised. Whether or not that's true, I'm as conflicted about Pierzynski as I was about David Wells or Ramiro Mendoza.